


need your love, need your time

by 23bestfriends



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/F, Pining, SOFT GAYS, actually they're both oblivious, like really soft gays, oblivious!tobin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:57:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22473718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/23bestfriends/pseuds/23bestfriends
Summary: Hogwarts is great, Tobin thinks, and she loves Quidditch. But god, she’s missing that one thing in her life, and she has a pretty good idea of what it looks like— wild dark curls, big smiles, stunning green eyes, and the kindest heart she’s ever seen.//Or: the girls all go to Hogwarts, and Tobin is really fucking oblivious.Harry Potter AU
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 98
Kudos: 309





	1. i

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I’ve had this fic idea for a while but I only just made an AO3 account. This is my first time posting (although I have been reading fics here for quite a long time). 
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy :) please send any questions, comments, or requests my way

“That was a _fucking_ foul!” Kelley screeches.

Tobin bites her lip and watches the small, freckled girl jab an accusing finger at the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, Carli, who seems torn between a barely-held back grin and a look of confused disgust. Kelley’s green robes flutter angrily in the chilly November wind.

“Students, please,” Madam Hooch says with an exasperated sigh. Her tone makes it clear that this is not a rare occurrence. Around the pitch, players from both the Hufflepuff and Slytherin teams are slowly descending on their brooms to see what all the fuss is about.

“O’Hara,” another voice warns. Tobin looks over to see Alex Morgan, the Slytherin captain, dismounting her broom and striding over to where they’ve gathered. Meanwhile, the Hufflepuff rookies-- Sam, Rose, Lindsey, and Mal-- are nervously hovering in the air a few dozen yards away.

Carli exchanges a look and a terse nod with Alex over Kelley’s head. 

“Please, for the love of Merlin, subdue your Beaters, Morgan, or we may have a problem,” the older girl finally says, turning away and mounting her broom. Kelley seems about ready to combust ( _Incendio Charm, anyone?_ ) and break into another argument about the alleged Hufflepuff foul, but Alex places a firm gloved hand on her shoulder and shoots her a captain’s glare.

“We’ll fucking win anyways,” Kelley mutters under her breath as everyone begins to ascend again. Tobin tries and fails to suppress a smirk-- off the field, she’s actually best friends with both Alex and Kelley, but the latter’s Irish temper and overly competitive streak often come out on the pitch. 

In the end, neither of them win. Slytherin pulls ahead for a good bit after the incident due to some rather aggressive Bludgers from a certain brunette, but Hufflepuff’s Seeker, Mal, catches the Snitch and exactly evens the score. The draw is disappointing after a long, hard-fought match, and to say Kelley was mad would be an understatement.

It’ll be okay, Tobin knows. Kelley will hide in her dorm and sulk for about a day before reverting back to her usual, energetic, trash-talking self. 

Dinner is loud and brash and full of excitement: Gryffindor insisting as usual that they could beat both Hufflepuff _and_ Slytherin with their eyes closed; Hufflepuff and Slytherin indignantly shooting back insults; Ravenclaw rolling their eyes as they _actually_ went over Quidditch plays on scrolls of parchment. The rooks are, surprisingly, the most invested in the rivalries. Lindsey (a third-year Hufflepuff Beater) and Sonnett (a third-year Slytherin Beater whose real name is Emily but no one ever calls her that) bicker for a good part of the evening. 

Tobin mostly stays quiet, preferring to toss in a joke here and there, just watching the chaos unfold. And inside her head… well, there’s a lot going on in there, too.

She keeps glancing over to the Ravenclaw table and catching a certain green-eyed gaze. Christen Press: star Seeker for Ravenclaw Quidditch, freakishly smart, incredibly sweet, and _oh_ … fucking _gorgeous_. 

Too bad, then, that she’s about the straightest girl to ever exist (except for Alex, maybe). And it’s not that Tobin’s sexuality is a problem-- the opposite, actually, as the majority of Hogwarts is surprisingly accepting, just look at Pinoe-- until it is, at times like this. Sometimes she wishes that she was as straight as Alex just so she wouldn't be stuck pining after a beautiful girl with beautiful eyes that will never be trained on Tobin. 

“Yo, Tobinho, you in there?” Ash knocks a fist against Tobin’s head as she saunters past. The gesture is enough to break her out of her own head.

“Yeah, yeah,” she grumbles, raising a _particular_ finger at Ashlyn, who just chuckles and returns it with both hands. Good-natured snickering comes from the Slytherin table, and Tobin glances over to see Alex and Allie laughing. They both get a heartfelt middle finger too.

Tobin looks around the Great Hall and smiles. She has friends in all four houses, and no matter how much they talk shit to each other (perks of having a friend group made up entirely of Quidditch players), they’re still tight as can be. 

Hufflepuff is heavy on rookies this year— three of their best players are fourth-year and below— although their captain is legendary seventh-year Chaser Carli Lloyd. It’s gonna be hard next year without her, but Tobin knows the kids will step up for sure. She loves Mal, Lindsey, Sam, and Rose.

Ravenclaw includes Christen, of course, and their keeper, Alyssa Naeher, is absolutely phenomenal. Their captain is sixth-year Becky Sauerbrunn, who is a stone-cold Beater to be reckoned with on the pitch and intimidatingly intelligent off of it. Tobin’s still a little scared of her, to be honest. The other Beater is decidedly more friendly: Ali Krieger, Ash’s girlfriend.

Gryffindor really lives up to their mottos on the pitch. All of their best players are tough and physical and not afraid to fight for points. Pinoe and her shock of fuchsia hair are easily spotted, but not easily stopped; Julie has probably caused Tobin more injuries than any other player; Crystal once caught the Snitch even as two Bludgers pelted her from opposite directions. 

And Slytherin is, much to Gryffindor’s dismay, playing very well this year, in no small part thanks to Alex. She’s one of the best Seekers this school has ever seen. Kelley and Emily seem like all fun and games and pranks until they mount their brooms: then, it’s everyone’s game, and they’re not about to back down. 

It’s a while before they all finally retreat to their respective common rooms— no house willing to exit without a few parting insults. Kelley’s already perking up a bit, having tossed several friendly jabs at Hufflepuff as the night progressed.

“Night, Toby,” Alex shouts as the students filter out of the enormous room. Tobin doesn’t even get a chance to answer before she’s swept away and a different person is in her ear. 

“Good night, Tobin,” a soft voice says. She whips around to see none other than Christen Press standing there, looking adorable as always with that beautiful smile (despite being in Ravenclaw robes). 

Tobin’s mouth opens and closes a few times but no sound comes out. It’s only when Lindsey shoves her from behind, grumbling something about _hurry the fuck up, my Transfiguration essay isn’t going to write itself_ , that she finally manages a response. 

“Night, Chris,” she replies, and the grin she gets in return is almost enough to make up for the embarrassment. 

That night, Tobin’s dreams are filled with dark curls and gray-green eyes.


	2. ii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin is an oblivious little shit. Christen tries to pretend she doesn’t have major eyes for the Hufflepuff Chaser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy February!  
> Also— oh my god guys!!! The response to Chapter 1 was absolutely amazing! Thank you all so much; I was just overwhelmed by all the positive feedback.  
> Glad y’all are enjoying this subpar attempt at a first fic. Thanks a million for all the kudos, bookmarks, and comments!

Tobin wakes to bright sunlight shining right in her face. She winces and rubs her eyes to clear the sleep away— _shit_.

If the sun’s already up…

Oh god, Carli’s gonna kill her. 

She flings her covers back and scrambles around her room, not even bothering to change before throwing on her Quidditch practice robes. She could’ve sworn she’d set an alarm for morning practice. Apparently not. 

Or maybe she slept through it. It happens more often than she likes to admit, but if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s Carli’s. The Hufflepuff captain insists on scheduling extra workouts and team practice at ungodly hours so they don’t have to squabble for pitch privileges with other houses (read: _Slytherin_ ). 

It’s unfair, really. Never mind that the entire rest of the team always shows up for early practices bright-eyes and bushy-tailed. Never mind that the rest of the team are _literally children_. Tobin needs her beauty sleep. She’s old.

(There’s probably not a single soul who would describe Grumpy Morning Tobin as beautiful.)

(Also, she’s sixteen.)

She stumbles out of her room, hastily knotting her hair into a sloppy bun and almost forgetting to snag her Nimbus on her way out. A few fourth years are chatting quietly in the common room and they give her a confused glance as she sprints past. _(“Isn’t that Heath?” “From Quidditch, right?” “Yeah, what’s got her panties in a bunch?”)_

She finally makes it to the pitch, so out of breath that she collapses on the grass before even looking for Carli. Her broom skitters across the ground and her robes fan out over her panting body.

“Are you okay?”

Tobin’s head snaps up and her cheeks flush hot as she sees Christen’s concerned green eyes staring down at her. She quickly attempts to collect herself.

“Yeah, just got a little out of-- I mean, Carli-- morning practice-- my alarm didn’t--” she mumbles, tripping over her words and blushing even more.

“Hufflepuff wrapped up practice about fifteen minutes ago,” Christen says, not even bothering to hide how unconvinced she is. 

Tobin slumps a little. “Oh, um, okay.”

(Fuck. If Carli sees her, she’s dead.)

A soft hand brushes Tobin’s bicep and her heart rate skitters erratically. 

“Hey, Tobs. It’ll be okay. You’re a great player and a great asset to the team— I’m sure one missed practice won’t be too serious.”

Tobin looks up slowly, brown eyes meeting green. “You think so?”

Christen’s smile could rival the sun. (Tobin never understood that saying before; but now, she thinks to herself, now she finally does.)

“Of course, Tobin. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

There’s a pause. The air seems to grow unbearably thick, and then—

“—aw, thanks, Pressy! Back at ya.”

And Tobin sweeps off the pitch, robes billowing behind her as she leaves an openmouthed Christen Press in her wake.

:::

“Hurry up,” Ali calls from her spot in the air. Christen nods absentmindedly, so distracted that she almost falls off her broom as she mounts it.

“Pressy, you good?”

Becky gracefully dismounts, flipping her perfect fishtail braid over her shoulder. “I saw you talking to Heath— you better not be spilling any of our team secrets.” Her tone is joking but still scarily authoritative.

“No, no, nothing like that,” Christen hurriedly clarifies. “But…”

“But what?” Becky prods. “Come on, Press, I can’t have my best Seeker distracted on the field. Who’s gonna torment the rookies with me?”

“Hey,” Christen protests. “I don’t do that. And it’s just Tobin, I guess.”

“Ask her out.”

The younger girl sputters. “ _What?!”_

Becky shrugs. The faintest hint of a smirk graces her poker face. “You obviously really like her, and you’d have to be blind to not see the way she looks at you. Plus, Yule Ball’s coming up.”

_“I don’t— Tobin— she’s not— I don’t like Tobin Heath!”_

Becky is thoroughly unconvinced. “Okay, _sure_ , Pressy. Now get back to practice.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she replies, hopping on her broom. But her captain’s words ring in her ears.

_You obviously really like her._

_You’d have to be blind._

_She looks at you._

_She looks at you._

_She looks at you._

And despite the voice in Christen’s brain telling her _no, no, no_ , the flutter in her heart is saying _yes, yes, yes_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... what are we thinking, fellas?  
> Next chapter will be out in a few days.
> 
> Please come scream at me on tumblr @the23bestfriends. I made myself an account and I’m really lonely lmao.
> 
> I love love love any comments, suggestions, or questions!


	3. iii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet some more of the gals. Tobin goes to Hogsmeade and runs into someone.
> 
> warning: major fluff and obliviousness coming up  
> buckle in kiddos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, sorry I’ve been kind of MIA for like a week. school’s been hell and it took me so long to get this chapter out because I barely had any time. promise I didn’t forget about y’all :)
> 
> on a good note, this is a longer one. enjoy!

So three feet of parchment is a fucking _lot._ That’s what Tobin discovers as she frantically scribbles, her quill scratching angrily as she churns out lines of writing.

Allie wanders over, plopping into the cushy armchair opposite her (and no, Tobin has absolutely no idea how Allie— or any of her friends, for that matter— manage to always get into the Hufflepuff Common Room). “Whatcha doin, Harry?”

“Fuck off, Harry,” Tobin mumbles.

“Does that say… _Quidditch_?” Allie asks, sounding confused as she reads the title upside down.

“Yeah,” Tobin replies, crossing out a few words and tapping the end of the quill against her lip. “I was late to morning practice again, and Carli didn’t bench me but she made me write this stupid essay about teamwork and shit.”

Allie winces. “Rough, Harry. Hey, by the way, a couple of us are heading over to Hogsmeade; you wanna join?”

“I have to finish th— actually, you know what, fuck it, sure. I’ll come.” Tobin hastily rolls up the parchment and messily shoves her writing utensils into her bag. 

They head to the Room of Requirement, which has become a sort of inter-house lounge, but only for the Quidditch teams. Big plushy couches fill the space, layers and layers of posters and house colors are plastered on the walls, and the room generates whatever else they might need. It’s nice, actually. After most games, the winning team will be celebrating here, and the players like to hang out and study here on normal days too. The best part is the direct passage to Hogsmeade. 

Kelley, Alex, and Pinoe are already there, draped over couches (or genuinely studying, in Alex’s case. Tobin has no fucking idea what the other two crackheads are doing). 

“Finally,” Kelley huffs, springing to her feet. “I was growing grays just waiting for you two bitches to get here.”

Everyone laughs at her comically appalled expression, which only makes her look even grumpier and even funnier. “Let’s just go,” Kell mutters.

The six of them enter the passageway, joking and laughing as they round the corner into the Hog’s Head Inn. Outside, it’s cold— a chilly breeze whistles by; Tobin hugs her arms closer to her body. They spend a while just popping in and out of stores and having a good time.

Allie and Kelley take way too much joy in the wide selection of prank supplies at Zonko’s, and Alex insists on keeping them within eyesight at all times to prevent them from secretly buying anything _too_ horrific. Tobin and Pinoe agree, although the latter seems disturbingly delighted by all the things in the shop too.

They also stay in Honeydukes for longer than they should: even Pinoe and Alex are excited despite being the health nuts that they are. 

(Sadly, this means that they forget to watch Kelley, who leaves the store with an amount of candy that no human should ever consume in a whole _lifetime_.)

“What the fuck, KO?” Pinoe sputters when she sees Kelley’s double armload of sweets, and then promptly snatches an oversized handful for herself.

“Oh, you did not just…” Kelley growls, in a way that Tobin _hopes_ is playful, but you can never really tell with Kelley and food. The smaller girl takes off running after Pinoe at a speed that seems way too fast, considering she’s basically holding her own weight in candy.

“Fucking chill!” Pinoe calls, popping a Chocolate Frog into her mouth as she sprints through the throngs of people.

“Oi! Don’t start eating my Frogs!”

The two of them weave in and out of the crowds lining the streets of Hogsmeade, picking up more than a few dirty looks. Alex, Allie, and Tobin begrudgingly jog along behind them in case they actually inspire someone to _Silencio_ them— not a bad idea, actually.

Pinoe sidesteps a young couple walking hand-in-hand and leaps in front of the entrance of the Three Broomsticks, but she misses the old wizard coming out and almost topples the poor man over. Kelley screeches as Pinoe’s momentum throws her backwards and protectively wraps both arms around her Honeydukes bag, and Alex stops abruptly to avoid being hit, which almost makes Allie trip and fall, which _does_ make Tobin go flying towards the door.

She braces herself for the fall and manages to mostly upright herself in the air, but not before she collides with someone, a hot liquid and a soft yelp filling the air.

Tobin rises to her feet, brushing herself off and preparing to apologize to whoever she crashed into and buy them another drink, before she turns and the words die on her tongue—

—oh.

_Oh._

Christen is standing there, looking adorably shocked, mouth hanging open and a half-empty cup in her hands. 

(Coffee or butterbeer or something along those lines, Tobin decides, as she guiltily glances at the spilled drink staining the chest of Christen’s white shirt underneath her robes.

“Christen— I’m so sorry, I really didn’t mean to but Kelley bought too much from Honeydukes and then Pinoe stole some and they were running and I fell and I really didn’t mean for you to spill your drink everywhere and—“

“It’s okay, Tobin,” Christen replies softly with an even softer smile.

“Hi, Pressy!” Kelley screams obnoxiously loud, and Alex smacks her before offering a much more reasonable “ _Sorry about that, Press_.”

“No, no, it really is okay,” Christen assures, but there’s a devious look on Alex’s face that’s too similar to Allie’s face in Zonko’s, oh Merlin—

“Tobs, you should buy Chris another drink to make up for the one you spilled,” Alex suggests. She’s grinning like a lunatic and everyone else is enjoying it way too much for Tobin’s sake.

Christen turns to Tobin with a mischievous grin. “You know, I think another drink would be nice, actually.”

Tobin gulps. “Yeah… yeah, sure, no problem.”

Christen smiles again, gently sets a hand on the small of Tobin’s back as they walk into the Three Broomsticks again.

From outside, Alex, Kelley, Allie, and Pinoe watch as the pair lean into each other a little more with every step. They watch as Christen’s smile grows impossibly wider and the corners of her sparkling green eyes crinkle. They watch as Tobin brings a hand up to rub the back of her neck more times than should be necessary.

Most of all, they watch how Christen sneaks glances at Tobin like she hung every star in the sky—

—and how Tobin always, _always_ misses it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bueno? no bueno? más o menos?  
> there’s my spanish for the week
> 
> as always: kudos, comments, questions and suggestions are much appreciated
> 
> come laugh at my mediocre posts and scream at me to write more chapters on tumblr @the23bestfriends


	4. iv

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two idiots with crushes; one spilled drink; and a fuckton of soft oblivious flirting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, another sporadic update! Truly a miracle.
> 
> Hope y’all enjoy this one if you’re still even there lmao. I really enjoy writing this and I’m loving all the love!!
> 
> new chapters plus a short interlude coming soon

“Chris, I really didn’t mean to,” Tobin says sheepishly. And even if Christen were actually mad, she knows she would melt anyways: that adorable guilty smile and those big brown puppy eyes— oh, Merlin.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replies, and then smirks. “But you better watch your ass next weekend.”

Tobin’s head snaps around to face Christen, mostly from shock that _Christen Press_ of all people said a curse word. The younger girl’s green eyes dance with mischief at Tobin’s flabbergasted expression.

“Ah, so you don’t even try to deny that Ravenclaw will win,” Christen teases.

Tobin manages to compose herself and scoffs playfully. “You wish. We’ll wipe the pitch with you guys.”

The two of them continue to rag each other as Christen places her order— _”One Butterbeer, please”_ — and Tobin pulls out her wallet.

“Oh my god, Tobin, no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Christen protests. “You’re not even buying anything!”

“Good thing you didn’t ask, then; I offered. Plus, I made you spill your drink all over yourself and it ruined your shirt. I can’t be so rude to a pretty girl, now can I?”

Both Tobin and Christen flush as the words leave her mouth. 

_Fuckity fuck fuck fuck, I told her that I think she’s pretty._

And Christen: _She thinks I’m pretty?_

The woman behind the counter clears her throat obnoxiously loud. “Four Sickles.”

“Uh… right, the Sickles…” Tobin mumbles, hastily dropping a handful of silver coins in the woman’s hand without even counting.

“You’re cute when you’re all flustered,” Christen says softly as they sit down at a table for two. Tobin pretends to ignore the blush on both of their faces.

They talk as they wait for Christen’s drink. Honestly, it’s a little awkward at first: they don’t know each other that well outside of Quidditch, and the whole reason they’re here is because… well, they haven’t exactly started off on the best terms ( _read: Tobin’s clumsy ass_ ).But the Butterbeer takes a long time to come out and they’re forced into casual conversation. Little things, mostly. 

Tobin learns about Christen’s two sisters and her two beloved dogs; how Christen loves French fries and the color green; how she practices yoga and meditation to help with her anxiety before games; how her birthday is right after Christmas ( _”Oh my god, Pressy, is this why you’re named Christen?” “Yeah, my dad calls it the best dad joke he’s ever made.”_ ).

Christen hears about Tobin’s three siblings; how she’s always whistling and other people always know it’s her even when she whistles through her teeth; how she loves to surf with Kelley and Ash and play tennis; how she has a specific “hard chill” mode before games where she tries to keep her heart rate below 20.

By the time Christen’s Butterbeer is finally brought over, the spilled-drink disaster is about the last thing on their minds.

“I always think it would be amazing to play somewhere else, you know?” Christen muses, taking a drink, and Tobin has to physically tear her eyes away from the green-eyed girl’s lips on the mug. 

“Uh… no, yeah, I get it,” Tobin rushes out when she realizes she’s been silent for way too long. “Like how far away, though? I went to France for a term last year. Played at Beauxbatons for a few months. It was nice.”

“Maybe Sweden… wait, what? You were in France?”

Tobin smiles shyly. “Only for a little bit. Needed a break from rainy old England and luckily they were accepting subpar Quidditch players as exchange students.”

“Tobin, you’re, like, the _furthest_ thing from subpar,” Christen says, and it’s true. “Have you seen yourself play?”

“Well, no, since I can’t really watch _myself_...”

“You idiot!” Christen whines, but she’s grinning. “I was trying to compliment you!”

“Well, in that case, thank you very much. It’s not every day that I get a compliment from a pretty girl.”

For the second time, Tobin curses herself for saying too much, for scaring Christen away and overstepping the line.

Then--

“Well, it’s not every day that I get to give a compliment to a pretty girl, either,” Christen replies with a smirk and a… _was that supposed to be a wink?_ Tobin’s eyes widen a little.

The silence that follows is different this time. It’s still heavy but with the implication of something else besides shy awkwardness. It crackles with the beginning of something new. The feeling of a friendship, or something more… strange, but not bad. In fact, Tobin decides, she quite likes this feeling and this pretty green-eyed girl.

“So, Sweden, huh?”

A near-imperceptible sigh of relief escapes Christen’s mouth. “Yeah, they have this amazing professional Quidditch team called Tyreso…”

The two of them stay at the Three Broomsticks for at least two more hours. The Butterbeer is long gone; the conversation, however, continues to flow easily and comfortably. They jump from topic to topic, everything and anything.

_(”KO and Ash and I wanna go surfing together over break.”  
“You should try California, I heard they have great beaches.”   
“Oh, yeah, I’ve always wanted to go to America!”   
“I’m sure Kelley would love it too; she used to talk about going to America all the time.”  
“Wait, you knew Kelley before Hogwarts?”  
“Yep, since we were eight.”  
“That’s sick! Has she always been a crazy squirrel?”  
“Oh, Merlin, you do not want to meet preteen Kelley. I swear she was on crack or something. God, she was so energetic.”  
“Still is.”  
“You mean, seems-like-she’s-on-crack or overly energetic?  
“Both.”  
“You’re not wrong.”)_

Tobin’s never been much of a talker until now. She prefers to keep quiet, likes to let the rest of the world do the talking and hustling and bustling for her. But with Christen? It’s so easy to just… talk. Too easy, actually, as the owner of the bar has to kick them out for hogging a table for so long. 

Instead of letting that end their coffee pseudo-date and going back to do her Arithmancy and Defense Against The Dark Arts and Transfig homework, she stays with Christen. They walk around Hogsmeade even though Tobin just did that earlier. They buy candy from Honeydukes, although nowhere near as much as Kelley did.

There’s a light snow and it’s almost dinnertime. It’s easy and sweet and fun; she’s wrapped in happiness like it’s a warm blanket; she has a beautiful, laughing girl on her arm. There’s no place Tobin Heath would rather be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts?
> 
> Or I could say ¿Bueno? ¿Malo? ¿Más o menos?  
> @dacb972 THIS IS FOR YOU, LOOK AT MY CORRECT SPANISH GRAMMER AND SHIT
> 
> lol plz leave a kudos or comment or hop on over to tumblr @the23bestfriends. much love for all y’all
> 
> no seriously i need tumblr friends


	5. interlude no. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the gals start betting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a fun little chapter that's not from the pov of either tobin or christen. just the gang being crackheads + chaotic captain broon.

“Bet you ten Galleons that Tobin and Christen go to Yule together.”

“Tobs and Pressy? No fucking way, Pinoe.” Ashlyn scoffs and continues scribbling her essay.

“No, Ash, you didn’t see them the other day at Hogsmeade. Tobin was staring at Christen like… like she was a lovesick puppy and Christen was the sun… or some shit,” Kelley defends.

“Word of advice, Wormy: never write anyone a Valentine’s Day poem.” 

“Fuck off, Janice.”

Alex snorts and ponders for a second. “I’ll take that bet, Pinoe. Make it 20 Galleons and I’m in.”

“You don’t think they’ll go together?” Megan asks incredulously.

“Nah, Tobin’s too much of a wuss to ask Pressy, and Christen is too nice to ask because she definitely thinks that Tobin doesn’t like her.”

The door to the Room of Requirement opens and Becky walks in. “What’re we gossiping about today?”

“Tobs and Pressy,” Ash says before anyone can stop her. “Do you think they’ll go to Yule together? Alex and Pinoe have 20 Galleons on the line.”

Surprisingly, Becky’s reaction isn’t bad; in fact, she smirks and reaches inside her bag for her own money. “No, I don’t think so. But how much you guys wanna bet that Press makes the first move?”

“Shouldn’t we _not bet on our teammates and their love lives?_? Especially you, Captain Broon,” Ali reasons, looking at Becky. Ashlyn opens her mouth to protest and then closes it when she sees the glare on her girlfriend’s face. (Alexandra Krieger can be very scary, okay?)

The blond sixth-year actually considers her fellow Beater’s words for a moment before shrugging. “I mean, I don’t see any harm in it--”

Alex, Kelley, and Pinoe cheer at how they’ve managed to corrupt even Becky: stone-cold, no-nonsense, badass prefect and Quidditch captain Becky Sauerbrunn--

“--if you all promise to not let this interfere with Tobin and Christen’s daily lives, or to try and purposely set them up.”

A collective groan goes up from the others, minus Ali.

“Broon, you’re no fun,” Kelley grumbles. “Lighten up a little!”

“I didn’t say _nothing at all_. Besides, no one’s taken my bet yet. Come on, losers, who wants to bet that Press makes the first move?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me how you like the concept of these shorter interludes! they're really fun to write and i'm thinking about interspersing them with regular chapters every so often.
> 
> as always: kudos, comments, suggestions, concerns, and especially tumblr friends are all greatly appreciated. come scream at me @the23bestfriends


	6. v

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> christen reminisces. a certain chaser _really_ catches her attention, and also, who says ali doesn't want to bet, too?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooh! getting close to Important Things aka our first full quidditch match and some more soft preath fluff!
> 
> part of this is a flashback; i took bits and pieces from christen's interviews and stuff she's said before, but some of it is my imagination too. enjoy :)

Christen’s always loved gamedays. When she was younger, before her family realized she was magical, she used to play football-- the Muggle kind, where players (usually) stayed firmly rooted to the ground, and she was damn good at it.

Honestly, she didn’t know if she really loved the game itself. More often than not she would find herself stuck in a well of self-deprecating thoughts after a bad play or a bad pass or a bad first touch, and though her ball handling got better, the thoughts did not. 

But the thing she lived for: gamedays. And, as it turned out, gamedays were also what caused her the most strife. Yet she couldn’t help but feel exhilarated of slipping her feet into her well-worn boots and taking the pitch against girls twice her size, of weaving through the legs of flabbergasted defenders fighting to keep up with her, of the ball arcing past the keeper’s outstretched hands and into the net, and most of all--

Of _winning_. 

There were days of pure joy, when Christen and her teammates would almost collapse with excitement over a victory, but they would try to hold their grins in for the sake of the other team trudging away defeatedly. There were also days where _they_ were that other team, and no one took it harder than Christen.

Then she got her letter from Hogwarts.

She remembers her parents being utterly confused by the thick parchment, how her father was convinced it was a prank from the boys next door. Her sisters wore looks that were a mix between disbelief and a little bit of jealousy as she gently traced the rich green lettering that scrolled across the paper.

She arrived at Hogwarts all alone wearing a too-big cloak and holding a too-big trunk, more nervous than she’d ever been before, not even before a football game. Suddenly the carriages emerged from the fog, and when Christen stepped into one, everything just felt _right_.

It was fast after that. She fell in love with the castle and the Great Hall and the sorting and Ravenclaw-- her house, no surprise there-- with the magic and the wands and the classes, with everything and anything about this new world she’d just discovered, and it was like she’d been asleep for her whole life. Mostly, she fell for Quidditch. 

The first time she flew on a broom was the best moment of her entire twelve years of life. Football was a distant memory: she embraced this new, unfamiliar, exciting sport, this beautiful game. Even as a lowly first year, Christen quickly established a reputation as one of Ravenclaw’s best seekers ever.

And she still got nervous. She still found herself beating herself up after a particularly bad scrimmage or after a dropped Snitch. It became simultaneously worse and better as she matured, and she would have good days and bad days. But the pure adrenaline that preceded a match?

Well, that never went away.

:::

The wind biting at their faces does nothing to stifle Christen’s nerves before the match. Not all bad nerves, of course, but she just can’t wait to mount her broom and go hurling into the wide-open sky.

Her robes whip around her and send a shiver down her spine; _could they hurry up with the coin toss already, please?_ In the middle of the pitch, Becky is standing with Madam Hooch and Carli for the toss, but it seems like they’re having a cup of tea with how long they’ve been there.

Christen exhales a long breath, shifting her weight and glancing at the Hufflepuff sideline. The rookies are bouncing around-- Mal, their Seeker, seems to be enjoying the cold somehow?-- and to the side stands Tobin.

Oh, Tobin. That perfectly tousled brown hair, those big honey-brown eyes, and those _lips_. Soft pink and chapped from being bitten too much but still, the most kissable lips--

\--fuck, no. 

Why is she thinking like this? And about _Tobin_ , nonetheless; she can’t be thinking about an opponent like this, _shouldn’t and wouldn’t _be thinking about an opponent, no matter how adorable and smart and sweet and athletic said opponent is.__

__Goddamnit. She’s doing it again._ _

__Christen inhales a deep lungful of the frostbitten air, hoping the cold will help her settle down, but then she catches sight of Tobin again and her heartbeat races. To make matters worse, the aforementioned opponent looks over to the Ravenclaw sideline and locks eyes with Christen._ _

__Before Christen can even pretend that she didn’t see Tobin, the Hufflepuff breaks out into that signature megawatt grin of hers and offers a casual wave._ _

__Her heart flutters at the simple gesture, and she hates how excited she is over _one_ wave from _one_ Tobin Heath. But then she remembers last weekend and how they just… well, clicked. They talked for hours. Literal hours.  
And the thing is, she didn’t even care about all the homework that was going undone in her dorm. She genuinely _liked_ talking with Tobin._ _

__Ah, she’s fucked._ _

__“On the pitch, Pressy!” Becky shouts, and Christen snaps out of her daze to see the whole entire team-- except for her-- already in the air. She blushes and scrambles to mount her broom, stumbling again when she sees Tobin’s adorable grin._ _

__Christen slowly flies towards Ali as they wait for the starting whistle, and the older girl gives her a knowing smirk._ _

__“You know, Pressy, Becky would be totally fine with an inter-House relationship,” Ali says so casually that it takes a minute for the words to register in Christen’s brain._ _

__“I literally didn’t even--”_ _

__“She was really welcoming and open when I told her I was dating Ashlyn.”_ _

__“Uh, good afternoon to you too--”_ _

__“Honestly, I was a little surprised, especially considering Ash is a Slytherin and they get all that bad rep, but Becky is just an accepting person, really. And I feel like it’ll be even easier if it’s between a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff. Friendly terms.”_ _

__“Ali, I swear--”_ _

__This time, it’s not the dark-haired Beater who cuts her off-- it’s the sharp tone of Madam Hooch’s whistle. The pitch erupts in a flurry of movement as both teams race towards the just-released Quaffle; Bludgers are already starting to fly. This conversation with Ali will have to wait._ _

__It doesn’t matter how cute the opposing team’s fifth-year Chaser is. Right now, she’s got a match to play-- a match to _win_._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not my best chapter whoopsie. school has been... uh... interesting?
> 
> on the bright side, i'm working on some longer chapters, so stay tuned
> 
> kudos comments suggestions questions requests and tumblr @the23bestfriends PLEASE IM LONELY
> 
> special shout-out to @dacb972 for their amazing comments and suggestions thank you v much!!


	7. vi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hufflepuff and ravenclaw play a match of quidditch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y'all i'm back! bet u didn't expect to see me so soon huh. sorry, short chapter tho, that's what u get from a fast update lmao. and all this positivity in the comments and kudos !! literally WHAT. EVEN. can't believe so many of u guys are enjoying this mediocre fic but THANK YOU TO THE FUXKING HEAVENS AND BACK <3
> 
> btw, thanks for all the concern ab my school life. nothing's wrong it's just extremely boring and i've got too much useless hw. don't worry, i'm doing absolutely great! and i'm not super busy, i just like to be dramatic, so i'll still be updating semi-regularly. 
> 
> aight i've talked too much. enjoy!!

Tobin rushes into the open air, relishing the feeling of the wind against her face. God, she’s missed playing an actual match.

The scarlet Quaffle is lazily drifting towards the ground. She leans forward on her broom, trying to reach it before Morgan, the Ravenclaw Chaser who’s flying towards it too. Closer, closer, just a bit more--

She only manages to snatch a handful of air as Tierna, one of the other Chasers, zooms out of nowhere and flies down the pitch with the Quaffle in her grasp. So maybe Ravenclaw’s offense was better than she’d anticipated.

Tierna speeds towards the goals and hurls the Quaffle towards one of the hoops, just out of their Keeper, Jane’s, reach: it’s a shot that would’ve gone in if not for a well-placed Bludger from Becky. Too close.

Morgan easily recovers the ball and begins to get in shooting position. A stray Bludger grazes her shoulder and jolts the Quaffle out of her arms, and this time it’s Hufflepuff who grabs it first. Rose tosses it to Tobin, who just barely passes to Carli before having to duck to avoid a Bludger from Ali. 

The seventh-year swerves towards the other side of the pitch, yellow robes billowing behind her. She and Rose complete a few quick back-and-forths as they make their way up the pitch; Tobin avoids a collision as she sets herself in a good place to receive a pass. The Quaffle comes flying in her direction.

She quickly cuts sideways and swats the ball into the left hoop through the legs of a surprised Alyssa, rousing a cheer from the Hufflepuff student section. Tobin just grins, holds up a fist with her thumb and pinkie raised. _Now we’re talking._

Rose scoops the Quaffle up and launches it back towards the hoops several times, all to no avail. Finally, Alyssa’s deft hands catch it and flings it past midfield to where Tierna is waiting. The second-year twists backwards in a way that’s much past her age and slings the ball into the fifty-foot hoop. Goal.

Both teams pick up the pace after the first points are scored. They trade points back and forth-- there’s a beast of a goal from Carli from just past midfield, Morgan scores several times on throws that look like professional Muggle-baseball pitches, and Rose nails one with the Quaffle whizzing through a narrow gap between two angry Bludgers. 

It’s been about forty minutes and the two teams are pretty close in scoring-- Hufflepuff 120, Ravenclaw 100. Tobin can feel the fatigue starting to set in after flying around for so long. It’s a close game, too, much closer than she’d expected. She pulls out of the epicenter of the action for a moment to just hover on her sleek AJ One broom.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spots a flash of gold-- the Snitch. Her excitement quickly turns to dread when she sees Christen dashing after it and Mal still on the other side of the pitch.

Tobin springs into action, banking towards Christen sharply. She’s careful to avoid actually touching the younger girl so she doesn’t commit a foul, but the sudden movement is enough to throw her off and for the Snitch to disappear into a glimmer of muted sunshine.

“Dammit,” she hears Christen mutter.

“Sorry,” Tobin mouths as she catches the Ravenclaw’s eye, offering an apologetic shrug. The green eyes harden with determination as she flies away.

(Tobin swears she hears a voice scream _twenty Galleons, bitch_ somewhere in the crowd: was that Kelley, maybe, or Pinoe? And what does that even fucking mean?)

Mal brushes by Tobin. “I missed the Snitch, didn’t I?”

“Hey, hey, everyone makes mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself; just keep staying on your toes and looking, alright?”

“And Christen saw it.”

Tobin has to think of an answer that won’t send Mal into her own thoughts. “Mal, doesn’t matter what she saw or didn’t see if she didn’t catch it, okay? You’ve got this.”

Mal sighs. “She would’ve caught it if it hadn’t been for that save. You’re not even a Beater, Toby.”

“Kid, don’t dwell on what’s already happened. Stay focused and alert. Also, don’t call me Toby.”

This brings a soft laugh out of the younger player. “Yeah, ‘kay, Toby. I just needa--” Mal gasps quietly and cuts away quickly, towards what Tobin can only assume is the Snitch. 

Morgan scores another goal, and the cheers go up again, but Mal’s abrupt movement has already caught Christen’s attention. The Ravenclaw follows closely behind, and for a split second there’s a glint of gold. Both Seekers throw out their arms, reaching, reaching, reaching--

\--out of nowhere, a Bludger swerves into Christen, knocking her off her broom, and all the sound in the world drains out of Tobin’s ears as she watches the dark-haired girl fall to the grass; so fast and so slow at the same time, and the only noise is Tobin’s head rushing and her heart pounding, _God, no, please, no_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo boy enjoy that cliffhanger :) as my english teacher likes to say, "marinade on THAT for a while, how bout that" whoopsie ahaha love u guys but i also love cliffhangers. it's getting really hot in here, must be the slow burn
> 
> i promise there'll be more actual preath stuff. lmk what y'alls thoughts are on quidditch chapters (they're a bit harder to write but i def will write more if u guys like them!) sidenote: did y'all pick up on all the little references? specific goals mostly, but also a few lil tobin things :)
> 
> again, very special thanks to @dacb972. your comments are the absolute best. as for why carlos is a hufflepuff, i had a specific thought process for every single player as well as overall for the whole wwc squad, and it didn't always make the most sense but ARTISTIC LIBERTIES and also i needed some of it for the plot. if y'all want a full list of everyone's houses and why they're there, i'll have that as a full non-plot chapter later on! again please lmk, i want all ur thoughts @the23bestfriends on tumblr


	8. a guide to hogwarts houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is not a plot-chapter. i repeat, this is not a plot-chapter.
> 
> oops sorry i got y'alls hopes up, but i wanted to make this for u guys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why is this the longest chapter i've posted thus far? IT'S NOT EVEN A REAL CHAPTER WTF
> 
> lmao hope u enjoy tho, and i really hope this helps u understand my crazy thoughts

here’s just the pure breakdown. format is: Number Name Schoolyear-Position  
for example, 23 Christen Press 5-S means that Christen, #23, is a fifth-year Seeker.  
(S-Seeker; C-Chaser; B-Beater; K-Keeper)

 **GRYFFINDOR:**  
7 Abby Dahlkemper 3-B, 8 Julie Ertz 4-B, 15 Megan Rapinoe 6-C, 19 Crystal Dunn 4-S, 21 Adrianna Franch 4-K, 22 Jess McDonald 6-C

 **RAVENCLAW:**  
1 Alyssa Naeher 5-K, 4 Becky Sauerbrunn 6-B, 6 Morgan Brian 4-C, 11 Ali Krieger 6-B, 12 Tierna Davidson 2-C, 23 Christen Press 5-S

 **HUFFLEPUFF:**  
2 Mal Pugh 2-S, 3 Sam Mewis 4-B, 9 Lindsey Horan 3-B, 10 Carli Lloyd 7-C, 16 Rose Lavelle 3-C, 17 Tobin Heath 5-C

 **SLYTHERIN:**  
5 Kelley O’Hara 5-B, 13 Alex Morgan 5-S, 14 Emily Sonnett 3-B, 18 Ashlyn Harris 5-K, 20 Allie Long 6-C

so I know a lot of my decisions might not make sense (COUGH CARLI COUGH) but i promise i thought them through long and hard so bear w me.

first of all, i tried to spread them out evenly over the four houses, bc it usually ends up like 90% of the team is gryffindor and i don’t think that’s accurate at all. with 23 players that comes to 6 per house with one house that only has 5. that ended up being slytherin, more on that later.

i also tried to keep positions and ages relatively even too-- mostly positions. (most important for this was gks: i aimed to put a gk in every house but obvi with the wwc squad i was one short.) and i put a captain in each house, as i’m counting becky as a captain. again, more on that later. 

(i’m gonna be saying “more on that later” a lot so from now own, MOTL is what i’m typing)

finally, i for SURE considered personalities and friendships. this actually was so tricky bc a lot of players could fit in multiple houses, or some players don’t really show up in media or interviews a lot so it was hard to tell any defining characteristics. as for friendships: i decided to keep best-friendships in the same house, for the most part, and romantic relationships i usually separated.

just want y’all to know that i really did spend a lot of time thinking about this-- prolly way too long, actually, but there is a huge thought process behind this. and it’ll be a pain to explain bc it’ll be confusing and every decision is linked to like 6 others but :)

INDIVIDUAL BREAKDOWNS  
*this is not in any real order btw

 _the captains_  
alex, pinoe, carli, and becky. lot to unpack here.

so i was trying to do one per house, like i said. becky is a no-brainer for ravenclaw imo. she’s so intelligent and she loves books and she has that quiet leadership that many of my other ravenclaws possess as well.

i put alex in slytherin bc she has that fierce slytherin ambition, and also bc of kelley and allie. couldn’t bear to break up the AM/KO/AL trio and they all made a lot of sense for slytherin individually anyways. MOTL

pinoe seemed too outspoken and a bit too impulsive for hufflepuff, and gryffindor fit her well. brave, strong, center of attention, etc.

that leaves carli. i’m sure many of u guys would argue for slytherin, or maybe even gryffindor, but she didn’t fit with the rest of the players in those houses. plus, alex and pinoe already took those spots. and i do think carli has many hufflepuff traits. she’s not always the flashiest (think footwork/skills) but she’s incredibly hardworking and she’s still here at 37, so pretty loyal imo, and v honest. the humble/non-competitive thing really had me on the edge but in the end this worked best in all aspects. again MOTL

 _the kids_  
mal, lindsey, sam, and rose.  
(i was gonna include sonny but she was just way too slytherin for me)

so i really wanted to keep these lil crackheads together and hufflepuff seemed like the only logical option. lindsey could’ve very well been slytherin or gryffindor too, just so u know, but soft horan made me keep her here.

circling back to carli: this is 4 out of 6 already for hufflepuff and they’re all 1st or 2nd yr. that’s another reason why i brought carli over, so there would be some actual age diversity. 

_tobs and pressy_  
ah, the two dumb soft gays.

cp was a no-brainer for ravenclaw-- miss stanford yoga-meditation be smart af. that quiet intelligence again. tobin was either gryffindor or hufflepuff. the age diversity thing, and then also hufflepuffs’ rep for being notoriously chill seemed fitting for her.

lmao surprisingly the two main characters were the easiest by far.

 _the rest of ravenclaw, but only mostly_  
alyssa with her crosswords and her dislike of the spotlight, tierna as another stanny and an aspiring astronaut and also who loves to read novels, and ali is just so smart too it’s hard to describe. plus that ravenclaw quiet intelligence that they all share. more on moe later

 _slytherin_  
yay! the fun one!

ok so alex is the slytherin captain, and for some reason i just really really wanted to put ash in slytherin. maybe it’s her whole badass tattoos-and-no-fucks-given vibe, idk, but this was another no-brainer for me.

then kelley and allie. they were already being considered bc of alex and the trio friendship, but i looked individually and they fit well too. they both love to prank ppl and they (especially ko) have these amazing evil laughs. allie just seems like a v cunning person-- in this one q&a, a bunch of teammates said she would be the best bond villain. and kelley is ambitious as fuck, like look at her: hermann trophy forward turned stellar right back and she ain’t slowing down.

remember how there would be a house w only 5 players? i had slytherin be that house bc they usually get an “evil” rep in the original series. not tryna say any of these gals are evil (well… maybe a few lmao) but i also feel like slytherin is the easiest for villains to fit into. so if i do decide to have any antagonists, there won’t be as much of the team that’s associated w them if that makes sense.

so that leaves one more spot. i gave it to sonny, bc she’s so much like kelley (pranks, jokes, personality, etc). it was either here with ko-- her mentor-- or in hufflepuff w the rest of the kids. also slytherin needed another beater and these two make the perfect beater pair.

 _gryffindor… kind of_  
so far all we have here is pinoe and really any of the girls could fit here. two must-haves were jj and dunny, bc 1) i couldn’t separate these bffs, and 2) they both have that tough-as-nails physicality that i attribute to gryffindor. 

ad was the only gk left over at this point. i had empty spots in both ravenclaw and slytherin, but NOT IN HUFFLEPUFF, which was the only other house w/o a gk. so i had to put ad in gryffindor (it works tho, so it’s all good).

 _finally_  
i don’t wanna call these gals the “leftovers” bc it’s mostly just since they don’t show up in media very often. (jmac, abby d, and moe)

as of now, slytherin and hufflepuff are both filled; ravenclaw has one spot left, while gryffindor has two left. jmac was the clearest choice from here. she’s fiercely determined and loyal which tbh is more hufflepuff but just roll w it. now i just have to decide if abby d or moe belongs more in ravenclaw.

well, ravenclaw already has two defenders (ali and becky) and they both HAD to be beaters in my mind, so moe went to ravenclaw and abby ended up w gryffindor. again, it worked out well, just not as clear of a choice as some of the others.

 _positions_  
usually i tried to keep them w their actual positions. keeper for gk obvi, beater for defender, chaser for forward, and middies were used to fill whatever position was lacking within a house.

sometimes i would end up with duplicates or not enough tho-- e.g. ravenclaw where we had 3 defenders but only 2 beaters per team. so i put the veterans as beaters and moved tierna to chaser. and hufflepuff was missing a keeper, which i couldn’t fix by moving a player to a dif position. keeper is kinda exclusive. (i solved this by adding in jane campbell, who has gotten called up but didn’t go to the wwc)

also, the problem of who would be seeker. i had to shift positions around to decide who would fill this role. christen and alex were pretty obvious choices; mal wasn’t as clear but it def works well. crystal in gryffindor was a bit of a harder choice, since i just didn’t like my first thought (pinoe) as seeker and no one else was really standout in my mind. 

so that’s it! pretty much all of my absolutely crazy thought process. i hope this gives y’all some more insight into my decision-making lmao. back to regular updates soon-- i promise i won’t leave that cliffhanger for too long.

love u guys! see y’all soon <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not sure if that made things easier or harder to understand??? just lmk down in the comments
> 
> like i said, back to regulars soon. btw thx for the crazy amount of hits and kudos and comments !!! i literally can't believe it TYSM EVERYONE <3
> 
> aight ima head out now
> 
> @the23bestfriends


	9. vii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, it takes an accident to make two idiots realize they like each other. And Tobin and Christen are not those two idiots today, but at least it's a step in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woooo boi i'm back
> 
> lmao i had to get back to writing real chapters after that crazy crackhead excuse of an update last time. damn.
> 
> it's aight tho, i managed to churn this out when i realized i hadn't updated for three days whoopsie. and i actually kinda like it :) this is the first chapter that i've written from both perspectives i think. 
> 
> also: because of the memorial, just wanna say Rest In Peace to two legends, kobe+gianna bryant, as well as everyone else who was on that helicopter. 
> 
> yea that’s it. enjoy!

The first thing Christen notices is that it’s really fucking bright when she wakes up. Like, annoyingly, painfully bright. That leads to the second discovery: her head is literally pounding. She winces several times as she blinks her eyes open and takes in her surroundings. This is definitely _not_ her dorm, Christen notes. The white curtain surrounding the bed and the high wood ceiling…

Why is she in the hospital wing? Wasn’t she just playing Quidditch a moment ago?

“Hello?” she calls softly, and there’s a rustling outside the curtain before a head pokes in.

“You’re up.”

To her surprise, it’s Tobin, not Madam Pomfrey.

“Um… hey, Tobin. Do you… do you know why I’m here?”

The Hufflepuff looks a little stricken. “You, uh, you don’t remember?”

Christen shakes her head (and immediately regrets it as the pain comes flooding through).

“Yesterday, we-- Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff-- were playing a Quidditch match, and you got hit with a Bludger. You took a pretty nasty spill and I think you hit your head as well as your arm.”

Christen realizes there’s a slight ache in her left forearm. It’s more of a twinge and reminds her of the feeling when she sprained her ankle once, and she’s only just felt it because Tobin brought it up. “So, I’ve been here since, what, Saturday?”

“Yeah,” Tobin confirms, and for the first time, Christen notices how tired the older girl looks. Her hair is messy and there’s dark circles under her eyes like she hasn’t slept for a day. And are those Quidditch under-robes that she’s wearing?

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“You’ve been here all night, haven’t you?”

“Maybe.”

A beat of silence passes while the two of them stare at each other. The air feels heavy with unsaid messages.

“Ah, well, you know I felt like someone needed to stay and check up on you. ‘Specially since it was one of our Beaters that hit you. Lindsey says she’s very sorry, by the way.”

“Tell her I completely forgive her,” Christen replies quickly. “Accidents happen. Um, also-- why are you here? Not in a bad way,” she amends. “I appreciate it. Shouldn’t it be my team, though?”

“They were here before you woke up. But…” Tobin trails off.

“But…” Christen presses.

“I kinda wanted to… make sure you were… I don’t know, just needed to know you were okay.”

(And _oh, Merlin_ , if Christen doesn’t melt a little bit at that confession.)

“Thank you,” she whispers, suddenly shy.

“You’re welcome,” Tobin whispers back. She’s blushing. “Get some rest, pretty girl,” she adds after a moment, giving Christen’s hand a soft squeeze before slipping behind the curtain like she was never there.

It’s only as Christen is drifting back into her dreams that she realizes she forgot to ask Tobin who won the match.

:::

Tobin exhales quietly, sitting back against the uncomfortable hospital-wing chair outside the curtain. She knows her cheeks are flushed and her face is burning and she just hopes that Christen didn’t notice how flustered she was. But really, she had to physically stop herself from leaning forward and kissing the younger girl’s adorable frown away. She was just so beautiful, Tobin thinks, even all bandaged up and tired-looking in a hospital bed.

“Dear, you’ve been here for a long time,” Madam Pomfrey says as she approaches with a handful of assorted bottles. “You should go back to your dorm and catch some sleep.”

“If it’s alright, I’d like to stay.”

Pomfrey’s face softens and she pats Tobin on the head. “Girlfriend?”

(It takes a lot of effort to stop herself from saying _yes_ and even more to distract herself from how good it sounds: her being Christen Press’ _girlfriend_.)

“I’ll stay,” she repeats, forcing a grin through her fatigue. 

The older woman bustles inside the curtain and Tobin rests her head against the wall, letting her eyes flutter shut for a moment. She really is tired; she’s been awake for over fifteen hours ever since that moment on the pitch.

God, that was the scariest time of her entire life, she thinks. Watching Christen fall was like watching her own sister tumble off a broom fifty feet in the air, except it wasn’t her sister, it was the beautiful Ravenclaw who’d stolen Tobin’s heart so long ago and almost crushed it just as easily. 

Tobin doesn’t remember much besides that. She was on the ground in a heartbeat, running across the grass to where Christen lay crumpled in a heap. “Tobin!” Carli had shouted from the air and she’d completely ignored her captain as she pushed past the medical staff and the Ravenclaw team making their way to the dark-haired girl.

Lindsey somehow ended up right beside Tobin, a horrified expression on her face. “I… I wasn’t even trying to… I mean, I was aiming for her, but only because of the Snitch, and… I never meant for her to fall like that…”

“You hit that Bludger?!” Tobin all but roared, wheeling on her terrified teammate despite Lindsey being significantly taller, and Ali had to jump in front of her. The entire pitch had fallen silent.

“Tobin. Tobin, it wasn’t Lindsey’s fault,” Ali had warned in a low, dangerous voice, pressing the Hufflepuff backwards as she tried to advance on the second-year. “Tobin. _Tobin, look at me!_ ”

“Like hell it wasn’t,” Tobin growled, and finally turned away with one last scathing glare. She dropped to her knees besides Christen as Ali consoled a wide-eyed, shaking Lindsey.

“Christen,” she whispered desperately. “Christen, please wake up.” Across the little huddle, Becky shot her a curious look.

“I’m going to need you to move,” one of the meds instructed Tobin. Two others were lowering a hovering stretcher to the grass and preparing to levitate Christen onto it. “Miss, I’m going to need you to move.”

“I’m staying with her,” Tobin had insisted defiantly.

“Heath,” Becky cautioned in a tone that wasn’t unlike Ali’s earlier, only it was infinitely more intimidating, and she’d called Tobin by her last name, which meant she was dead serious. Reluctantly, Tobin stepped back, but she kept her eyes trained on Christen as the meds carefully transferred her to the stretcher.

When they began moving back towards the castle, Tobin ran after them without a second thought. “Tobin!” Carli yelled for a second time. “Heath, get your ass back over here-- where do you think you’re going?”

“Wherever she’s going.”

The fifth-year’s words rang in the deafening silence, and she disappeared briskly into the castle along with the meds and Christen.

A heavy quiet fell over the stadium. Players hovered nervously, unsure of what to do; students in the stands shuffled uncomfortably. Then--

“Miss Heath,” Madam Pomfrey says, gently shaking her awake. “Miss Heath, you’ve been here for much too long. Please return to your dorm. And that is not a suggestion.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Tobin mumbles, too tired to do anything but cast a fleeting glance at the curtain and stumble out of the hospital wing.

Tobin barely makes it to her dorm before collapsing into her bed. There’s a note on her nightstand that she’s much too exhausted to read-- probably from Ali or Alex-- and also a little stack of Galleons, for some strange reason. 

She’ll figure that out when she wakes up. But for now, she decides, she’ll rest, and let visions of a smiling Christen fill her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry linds. love u.
> 
> (sidenote: tobs and the great horan have the same mentor relationship in this fic as they do irl, don't worry. just... toby gets very possessive when someone hurts her **very good friend christen.** )
> 
> thx a million billion for all the love!! keep comin with the kudos + comments, it's much appreciated-- especially comments, i love hearing from y'all. tell me your thoughts!!
> 
> until we meet again/i decide to post another sporadic update :) tumblr @the23bestfriends


	10. viii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin pays another visit to a special someone in the infirmary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i got a cavity from writing this chapter.
> 
> also, YES, i do reveal who won the game in this one. sorry not sorry for stretching it out for so long :) y'all better be welcome lmao enjoyyy <3

_Hey, Tobin. Make sure you get some rest— you’ve been down there all night. Christen would hate if you lost sleep because of her. Also, there’s a bowl of soup for you outside your room. xx Ali and Alex_

Tobin rubs the sleep out of her eyes and squints at the scrap of paper. There’s another message on the back that’s considerably shorter and in considerably messier handwriting. _ALEX OWES ME_ , it reads, and Tobin recognizes Kelley’s unruly scrawl. There’s also a crude drawing of a stack of Galleons like the coins on her nightstand.

Tobin shrugs and tucks both the note and the Galleons into her robe pocket. Her hand brushes against leather… oh, right, _that_. Which reminds her: she needs to go check on Christen again.

She finds her way back to the hospital wing and steps into the massive infirmary. There’s several bouquets of brightly-colored flowers and a pile of enchanted “Get Well Soon” cards on the table outside Christen’s curtain, but no other sign of visitors.

Madam Pomfrey is on the other side of the room and her back is turned to Tobin, who sees a chance and seizes it. The sixth-year gently taps the table three times in lieu of a knock before slipping inside the curtain.

Christen is dozing peacefully in the hospital bed, her dark curls splayed wildly across the white infirmary pillow. Her chest rises and falls softly with each breath and she looks as beautiful as ever, except that those gorgeous green eyes are currently closed.

Tobin just stands there and watches her for a while; how long, she doesn’t know, and _yes, she’s aware that this is extremely fucking creepy, but Christen is just so…_

… well, she’s awake, that’s what she is now.

The younger girls yawns adorably as her eyes flutter open--

\--and almost screams when she catches sight of Tobin, who flinches and steps back.

“Oh-- oh my god, Tobin, I’m so sorry, I just thought you were someone else and I freaked out because I just woke up, but thank you-- I don’t even-- I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

Tobin relaxes and puts on an easy grin. “A little. But it’s cute.”

They both fall into staring again, blushing fiercely and finally tearing their gazes away when they’re too embarrassed to keep looking at each other. A pretty pink dusts Christen’s high cheekbones.

“So, uh--” Christen’s voice is a little husky when she finally speaks up, and _damn_ if that doesn’t do something to Tobin, “--thank you, Tobs. Thank you for staying this whole time.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Tobin protests. “And oh, that reminds me, I have something for you.”

“Tobs, no, you didn’t have to.”

“I’d argue that you deserve this fair and square. Do you know who won the match?”

Christen shakes her head carefully. “I… wasn’t I knocked out before it ended?”

Tobin smiles ruefully. “Well, you ended it.”

The younger girl pauses, confused. “Wait, don’t they keep playing a match after an injured player goes off? Oh, no, Tobin, please don’t tell me they stopped just because I took a little spill. Oh, Merlin, that’s so unfair to my teammates! And your team!”

“Not because of that,” she reassures. “But you did, however…” Tobin trails off and dips a hand into her robe pocket, extracting a small leather pouch. She cautiously tugs the drawstring open.

A flash of light escapes from within; a soft fluttering sound accompanies it. Christen gasps as a Golden Snitch comes to rest on her hand.

“You caught the Snitch, Chris.”

Christen’s mouth opens and closes as she processes Tobin’s words. “You mean I _kept hold of it_? Are you sure?”

The Hufflepuff chuckles. “Yes, I’m absolutely sure. They realized you were still holding it when they brought you here. All the way down and through the castle even though your arm was broken. Congratulations on your win, by the way.”

“Thank you, but you played so well, too. If anyone deserves the win, it’s you,” Christen insists, then tilts her head to the right. “Wait, Tobin. How did you know what they did when they brought me in?”

“I… When you fell, I got off my broom and, uh, came with them the whole way into the hospital wing,” Tobin mumbles shyly, cheeks flaming.

(Merlin. She really is about to explode, or combust, or just melt, she thinks, and she must be the color of one of Pinoe’s ties by now.)

Before she even registers what’s happening, there’s a pair of soft lips pressed to her cheek, and then Christen is pulling back, looking completely mortified and stammering out something nervously.

Thank you is all she hears before a hand yanks her out of the curtained area. “Miss Heath, please let Miss Press get some rest,” Pomfrey scolds, looking about as stern as Mal; there’s a soft, motherly look on her face as she gently shoves Tobin out the door of the hospital wing. All the way back to the Hufflepuff common room, Tobin is whistling casually, hands stuffed into her pockets, a grin splitting her face no matter how hard she tries to keep her expression neutral. 

She can still feel Christen’s lips on her cheek, the imprint of them burned into her skin like Christen’s eyes are burned into her memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mmhm. moving forward with these idiots, fucking finally. and lookie who made the first move even when she's got a concussion and some newly repaired bones. 
> 
> becky doesn't need to know.
> 
> leave all y'alls thoughts down there in the comments; i love reading them! until next time 
> 
> by the way, thanks to the anon who went and screamed at me on tumblr @the23bestfriends


	11. interlude no. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a look at how the gals' bets are progressing. Chaos ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's been gone for much longer than necessary? me! guess who's had about a dozen tests in three days? also me! woohoo we love when it's almost the end of a grading period and teachers decide to fit a semester of material into two weeks :)
> 
> good news!!! i'm working on several other new fics rn. vvv excited! lmk what ships/bromances/plots/tropes yall wanna see; i LOVE prompts!
> 
> glad i got this one out tho, i actually really liked writing it. interludes are fun. enjoy, yall <3

Kelley bursts into the Room of Requirement, arms overflowing and breathing hard like she’s just run a lap around the whole castle.

(Which might not be much of an exaggeration, Alex supposes, judging from her best friend’s frantic expression.)

“Merlin, KO, take a--”

“YOU GUYS WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW.”

Ash huffs at being interrupted. “Well, you gotta actually _tell_ us first.”

Kelley shoots her an equally-impatient look. “I was getting there, if everyone would just let me talk. What I was _saying_ was that I was headed down to the infirmary to check up on Pressy, you know, and I’m about to show up with my flowers and presents and Chocolate Frogs and all--”

\--here, Alex swears she hears Pinoe mutter something like _yeah, sure,_ your _Chocolate Frogs that you totally didn’t steal from me_ \--

“--when what do I see? The one and only Tobin Heath standing by Christen’s bed, talking, and both of them looking all soft and blushy and shit.” Kelley sits back, dropping her armload of things onto the floor and looking immensely pleased with herself.

“So what’d you… _do_?” Pinoe questions, still fixated on the box of Chocolate Frogs at Kelley’s feet.

“I ran, duh. Hightailed the fuck out of there, but not before I saw Pressy giving Tobin a kiss on the cheek.”

The room erupts.

“ _Christen?!_ ” Ali screeches.

“A kiss on the cheek?” Ash asks incredulously.

“ _Tobin?!_ ” Alex demands, her captain’s voice ringing above everyone else’s.

Kelley shrugs, looking annoyingly smug once again. “I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t have the sharp Seeker’s eyes that you’ve got, Al. Could’ve just been, oh, I don’t know, a trick of the light.”

Alex smacks her. Very hard.

“ _Ow_ , Jesus, Janice--”

“Well, sounds like a first move to me. Pay up!” Becky gloats, rubbing her hands together excitedly.

“Whoa, whoa, Broon, it was just a maybe-kiss. On the cheek. That’s not a first move. First moves are, like, asking the other person out. Or a real kiss, like on the lips or something.” 

_(“You can’t be talking,” Ali mutters. “Your idea of a big first move was to ‘help’ me chop up those lacewing flies in third year Potions. And you were blushing so hard that you looked like a tomato.”_

_“Hey!” Ash protests.)_

“You’re kind of right, though,” Alex begrudgingly agrees, looking at Becky. “For these two dumbasses, a kiss on the cheek is basically a marriage proposal.”

Pinoe stops in the middle of unwrapping a Chocolate Frog. “So what do you say we do?”

Becky, still the levelheaded influence, ponders the question carefully. “I say we wait. See if they’ll admit it, or if something more will happen soon. We always have Yule, you know: maybe we can do it based on who asks the other one to go to the ball. Make sure you guys count out those Galleons ahead of time, though. I’ll be getting those… very soon.”

“I fucking hope not. Already lost twenty Galleons to Al because of that stupid Quidditch match,” Kelley grumbles under her breath.

“Yeah, where’d you put my Galleons, anyways?”

The Slytherin Beater smirks. “Tobin’s nightstand.”

“Wait, what?”

“PINOE! ARE THOSE MY-- YOU BETTER NOT BE EATING MY FROGS AGAIN!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dude maybe we should have our own bets. oh and there you go for the explanation of the coins on toby's nightstand
> 
> what do we think ab krashlyn, chaotic broon, and the kellex bromance? also, sidenote: i will NOT be writing romantic kellex in this fic, sorry if that disappoints any of you. i just think it's invasive af to ship AM, who's very married and very pregnant and very much in love with her husband. don't worry, tho, the bromance is strong.
> 
> that's about it. thanks to the moon and back for the kudos+comments (especially the comments! yall are hilarious)! tumblr @the23bestfriends blah blah blah and i hope to see everyone soon <3


	12. ix

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobin has some important talks with some important people; Gay Panic™ ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hola my boys! it's been a minute.
> 
> this might be my least favorite chapter so far, but i needed to resolve some things and it ended up being a bit of a filler. literally i'm about to pull a KO and combust on the spot. like can we PLEASE just hurry up and get to the exciting parts already, thanks. (yes, i am aware that i am the author of this.) so yea, enjoy! 
> 
> *furiously writes the fun chapters*

For the second time today, Tobin steels herself for a very important visit. She bounces a little on her heels and exhales heavily-- why is she so nervous?-- before knocking three times. 

The door swings open. “Hey, what’s-- oh.”

Lindsey stands in the doorway of her dorm, wearing an oversized Hufflepuff sweatshirt and loose black shorts, and surprise passes over her face before it’s quickly replaced with guarded apprehension. “Uh. Tobin.”

“Linds, I’m so sorry,” Tobin blurts out, shoulders sagging a bit as she steps forward. The way Lindsey shifts backwards in response isn’t lost on her. It stings like hell, how she’s antagonized herself so much to this third-year that she almost considers a little sister.

“It’s okay,” Lindsey says quietly. It’s obviously not. She’s at least a half head taller than Tobin and yet she seems so small; the downcast look in her eyes would be easily missed if Tobin hadn’t picked up on it from their time together in France.

“No, it’s not okay,” Tobin insists, out loud this time. “It’s not. I let my emotions get the better of me and I was mad at you but it wasn’t your fault, and I know that Christen is important to me but you are too. And I’m sorry that I made you feel scared and that I was a bad example and I really wish I hadn’t yelled at--”

“You’re rambling,” Lindsey mumbles as she wraps her arms around a startled Tobin. “Also, please stop apologizing. I know you were scared too.”

“I’m sorry,” Tobin says anyways, and Lindsey punches her.

“You’re a sap.”

“And you’re a bully.”

“And you’ve got major heart eyes for a certain Christen Press.”

“And you’re-- wait, what?”

Lindsey smirks. “Yeah. Lost me ten Galleons, too, when you went all rage-protective mode during that match.”

“You bet on me?!”

“Hell yeah. But you gotta stop being such a softie, Toby. Hold off on the PDA for maybe two minutes, could you?”

“I’m leaving.”

“To find your _girlfriend_?”

Tobin throws two middle fingers over her shoulder without hesitation as she walks away, but Lindsey’s resounding laugh (and Mal’s ensuing cackle) is worth it.

:::

“Heath?”

Tobin looks up from her doodle-covered parchment to see Carli approaching. _Oh, shit._ “Uh, yeah, Cap?”

(Make that _three_ scary meetings today.)

“Hey, I just wanted to make sure you’re good. How you feeling? Doing alright?”

What?

“Uh… sorry, what do you mean?”

“Heard from a couple of the girls that you’ve been spending nights in the infirmary. Make sure you’re taking care of yourself as well as everyone else, okay? We need you, Tobs.”

Tobin swallows nervously. “Um. Got it.”

“Good, good. Get some sleep, have some food or something. Great play against Ravenclaw, by the way, although we’re gonna need to talk about… a few things.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Carli chuckles. “This’ll be you next year. Keep up the good work, future captain. I’ll see you at practice.”

Once the seventh-year is finally out of sight, Tobin practically collapses, out of nervousness or fear or relief or maybe all three. So here she was, expecting some huge stern lecture about being a good teammate and listening to her captain’s orders and _not running off the field when an opposing player got hurt_ … 

Well. It’s been a day.

She manages to finish up the last part of her DADA essay (surprisingly) before she heads down to dinner. Tonight, she decides, she’ll sit somewhere other than the Hufflepuff table. They’re technically supposed to sit with their house at all times, but everyone’s got friends in all the other houses, and their headmaster, Vlatko, doesn’t give a shit anyways. Sometimes _he’ll_ even wander among the students and eat wherever he feels like it.

“Toby!” Alex shouts from the Slytherin table as she walks into the Great Hall. “Come sit with us!”

Tobin starts to make her way over, reminding herself to tell Alex to stop calling her that stupid name, when a flash of dark curls catches her eye. Christen waves shyly as she slides into a seat at the Ravenclaw table next to Ali.

Tobin’s feet change course.

They seem to have a mind of their own; maybe Kelley or Pinoe has enchanted her shoes so they can control where she walks.

Either way, she ends up among a throng of Ravenclaws, and she can still hear a very-annoyed Alex yelling at her. Tobin stands awkwardly by Christen’s shoulder.

“Uh, hi, Chris,” she stammers.

Ali smirks.

Christen’s smile could light up the whole room, Tobin thinks, and she spends way too long staring at those eyes that she almost misses what the younger girl says.

“Hi, Tobin!” _Green eyes? Or is that more of a gray?_ “Come sit with us, please?” _Hmm. Evergreen. A bit like the sky on a rainy day._

“Tobin? Tobin!”

The Hufflepuff snaps out of her Christen-induced daze and grins sheepishly. “Yeah, I’d love to.” She hesitates, trying to find somewhere to sit on the bench.

“Here.” Christen shifts sideways easily, leaving a space for Tobin to squeeze into, and--

\--good god, is this dinner going to be long.

Christen is pressed up against her side, soft and sweet-smelling, her beautiful curls cascading over both of their shoulders. Their legs are flush against each other; their hands brush together on the table. If Tobin turns her head just a little bit to the side, she can see the Ravenclaw’s profile: all sharp angles and tanned skin and full lips, and if Tobin is to ever see a goddess on Earth, she swears they will look like Christen in this exact moment.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Christen whispers.

Tobin can only offer a smile, and she hopes that the clinking of glasses and the sound of forks against plates covers up the sound of her heart, which is fluttering and soaring out of her chest, right into the hands of Christen Press.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aww poor lindsey. toblerone loves her son. anyways some orders of business:
> 
> 1\. more quidditch + the yule ball coming up! fyi yule will prolly be more than 1 chapter  
> 2\. this is preath-centric, obviously, but i have some very strong ideas ab other ships that i want to write into this. there's been a smidge of krashlyn already, and will be some other surprises :)  
> 3\. NEW FICS ARE COMING I REPEAT NEW FICS ARE COMING send me requests and ships and tropes and ideas and lots of prompts!  
> 4\. thank you for the kudos, please talk to me in the comments, @the23bestfriends on tumblr  
> 5\. i really need to give a special shout-out to dacb972. their comments are the legit funniest thing and have given me LIFE and also so many new ideas. love you all <3 see u soon


	13. x

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kelley makes up a surprise Quidditch match and the Gryffindors start meddling, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoo boi.
> 
> i apologize for the huge hiatus. it's been a shitshow recently, school closed, life's been chaotic in general. mostly good now though. again, not my best chapter. i've been having some writer's block, so maybe expect some longer breaks between updates (not as much as this one, but not my usual 'every 3 days' schedule either).
> 
> it's short but enjoy !!

“Pressy! My favorite Ravenclaw!”

Kelley launches herself into Christen’s arms with a flying leap, and the dark-haired girl stumbles for a moment before unceremoniously dropping the Beater on the ground.

“Good morning to you, too,” Christen says, chuckling as Kelley picks herself up. The door opens and Alex and Allie walk in, waving their arms around and chattering about some sort of elaborate scheme. (Maybe it’s a new devilish prank. Maybe it’s a Quidditch play. Christen desperately hopes that it’s the latter.)

“Morning, Pressy,” Alex calls, still gesturing wildly to Allie.

“Morning, Al. What’s all this? With the arms?”

“New Quidditch formations,” Allie says, quite unconvincingly. “For our, uh--”

“--our scrimmage tonight, is what she means,” Kelley cuts in. Christen doesn’t miss the glares directed at Allie from both of the other girls. “We have a, um, friendly little match against… Gryffindor. Tonight. After dinner. Like, a Quidditch match. But not officially, if that makes--”

“Please shut up,” Alex says, massaging her temple.

(Kelley does _not_ shut up.)

“Press, you know what, all of you guys should come hang out tonight, too. I mean, like, the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams. Come cheer us on, you know? You better not be cheering for Gryffindor, though--”

The door to the Room of Requirement bursts open again, and Pinoe waltzes in, with Julie and Crystal close behind her.

“Not cheering for Gryffindor during what?” Megan asks breezily, and Christen stifles a laugh at the pained _please kill me now_ expression on Alex’s face.

“The Slytherin-Gryffindor scrimmage,” Allie supplies.

“But there’s no sc--”

“SPECTATORS? YEAH, I KNOW, SO I INVITED THE RAVENCLAWS AND HUFFLEPUFFS TO COME WATCH US PLAY!” Kelley interjects, much too loudly.

Christen studies the scene. She’s almost completely sure that they’re lying, judging from Kelley’s and Allie’s over-eagerness (poor Alex), and the suspicious, confused looks from all the Gryffindors, who are _supposedly playing tonight_. 

_What the hell,_ she decides. _Real scrimmage or not, there’s no harm to it. And it’ll be nice to hang out with all the Quidditch girls again. Just go with it, Christen._

“Okay. We’ll be there,” Christen says out loud. “I’ll go tell my house, then?”

“Hufflepuff, too,” Kelley adds. “Make sure you tell Hufflepuff.”

“But they’re not my house.”

Julie grins, making Christen immensely uncomfortable. “Mm. Just make sure you tell them… you know, pass it along to _Tobin_ or something.”

Crystal snorts.

“I’ll see you guys around, then,” Christen replies. She can’t shake the feeling that there’s some huge inside joke here that she’s missing. Even the fourth-years get it, apparently, and they don’t spend nearly as much time with Kelley as Christen usually does.

(Come to think of it, maybe that’s the problem. Maybe she’s been spending too much time with Kelley and that’s where all her common sense and brain cells have been going.)

//

Christen finds Tobin in the Hufflepuff common room, whistling softly as she sketches something for Herbology. Her hair is all mussed up and she’s leaning against a tall armchair as she works, her robes splayed widely around her, and she has a little smear of dark ink on her cheek.

_And she’s beautiful._

Christen stands and admires for a moment, out of Tobin’s line of view, and then she remembers why she’s here and forces away her daydreams.

“Tobs,” Christen calls, striding over. The Hufflepuff turns, breaking into her signature grin--

\-- _why does it feel so good that she’s the source of that grin?_

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Well… Kell and Allie are plotting something, I think, but they tried to cover it up. And they ended up inviting all of us to a scrimmage between Slytherin and Gryffindor. I think they said a _friendly little match_?”

“Between those two houses? Friendly? Not a chance. Ten Galleons says there’s a fistfight.”

“I know, right? Anyways, they needed me to tell all of you guys. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, I meant. So… yeah. That’s it. Just the scrimmage.”

Christen feels awkward, like she’s rambled on for too long and now would be a good time to exit this conversation, and Tobin’s got this funny look in her eyes. Merlin, Tobin’s eyes-- those warm, honey-brown, soulful eyes. 

_The color of happiness, Christen thinks suddenly, and without reason._

A gentle hand catches Christen’s sleeve and she almost gasps. But it’s just Tobin, with a soft, almost amused smile tugging at her perfect lips.

“Chris,” Tobin says gently, and _dear God why does her name sound so good when Tobin says it like that,_ “is this your way of asking me out?”

Christen chokes.

“ _What-- I mean, I didn’t-- I thought it wouldn’t-- no, I just meant for the-- I was only-- did it sound like I was asking you out?_ ”

(She can’t tell what Tobin’s expression is. Relief? Disappointment? Hurt, maybe?

But why would someone as perfect as Tobin ever want to be with someone like her?)

Christen pulls her sleeve away quickly. “I’m-- I’m sorry, Tobin, I have to go, uh--”

She dashes out of the common room.

In Quidditch, everyone knows that Christen is the fastest. She’s insane, both on a broom and on the ground when they’re running laps, and if there’s a Snitch on the field, she’ll be the first to catch it. She can fly two laps in the time it takes most people to circle around the pitch once. At this point, everyone refuses to race her, even the first-years, because they all know how damn fast she is.

But right now, that speed? It does her a whole lot of nothing. She hurries away so fast that she doesn’t see Tobin. She doesn’t see Tobin’s shoulders slump defeatedly; doesn’t see how she sinks into a chair; doesn’t see how she curls up and buries her face in her arms.

And that night, at dinner, Christen doesn’t see the empty plate at the Hufflepuff table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a n g s t
> 
> i keep saying this and then not putting out good content lmao, but: WE ARE GETTING TO THE FUN PARTS I SWEAR. THERE WILL BE MORE ACTUAL PREATH ACTION. and: NEW WORKS COMING SOON !! also sorry not sorry for that bit at the end :)
> 
> excited to hear your thoughts on this one !! it kinda started off like an interlude tbh. anyways ive missed the hilarious comments. keep them coming!! and thanks again for the kudos and for whichever anon came and found me on tumblr @the23bestfriends !! love you all <3


	14. xi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an impromptu midnight scrimmage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa it's been a hot minute. hope you guys enjoyed that little chrislex excursion and once again i'm sorry about the wait !
> 
> okay so i got mad at my own fic and decided it was too slow of a slow-burn. never fear though! plenty of pining and angst still coming after this! and if after this chapter you're wondering, how the fuck can there be even MORE pining, well, let's just say you're in for a treat :)
> 
>  **ALSO: IMPORTANT NOTE!** as i was planning out future chapters, especially relationships and stuff, i had to change a ton of years for the players. i think i fixed everything mentioned in the chapters and i also updated the "guide to houses" chapter, which includes years, but if i missed anything, please let me know!
> 
> anyways enjoy !!

Tobin curls up underneath her black-and-gold covers, feeling strangely dejected. She’s not even sure what there is to be dejected about, since nothing really happened besides her making a stupid, insensitive joke and scaring Christen off. It’s not like she actually asked Christen out. Or that Christen actually rejected her. 

But… damn. It still stings, somehow.

She locks the door and mopes all through dinner. And her thoughts keep getting caught on something that Christen mentioned-- something about a scrimmage between Gryffindor and Slytherin? What was that about?

Tobin burrows deeper beneath the heavy material. She can hear voices trickling in from the common room; probably the rest of Hufflepuff returning from the Great Hall. Fuck, she doesn’t want to see anyone right now. Her head hurts and she probably looks like shit and she really, really doesn’t want Lindsey or anyone interrogating her about what happened earlier. She even throws in a quick prayer (although she’s here at Hogwarts, learning to be a literal magical witch, Tobin still has a firm belief in her religious faith).

As if God or whatever almighty power up there completely hates her, the door bursts open.

“What the _fuck,_ Tobin?” Lindsey demands, striding over to the bed and yanking the covers back. Tobin yelps in protest and reaches for the comforter, but unfortunately, Lindsey is freakishly tall for a fourteen-year-old. Freakishly tall by any standards, actually.

“What do you want?” Tobin finally grumbles, turning away from the blonde Beater. “Also, how’d you get in? I thought I locked the door.”

Lindsey scoffs. “Tobin. Alohomora. But you still haven’t answered my question. Why the fuck are you hiding away in your room?”

“That’s a red-light word,” Tobin mumbles. “And what I do in my spare time is none of your business.”

“This isn’t your spare time. You skipped dinner, Tobin. I know this has something to do with Christen; we all saw her run out earlier.”

“We-- who’s we? Merlin, how many people saw?”

“So you do care.”

“Shut up.”

“Nope. I’ll get it out of you eventually. In the meantime, you’re going to the scrimmage with me.”

“I am _not_ going to the scr--”

“That wasn’t a question.”

“You’re two years younger than me. Stop bossing me around.”

Twenty minutes later, a supremely displeased Tobin finds herself shivering in the stands of the Quidditch stadium, sandwiched in between Lindsey and Mal. There’s a flurry of red and green on the pitch; the darkening sky is already starting to fill with stars and the rising moon illuminates the students milling around. Technically, Tobin remembers, it’s supposed to be only the girls’ Quidditch teams-- Hogwarts has a stupid policy of separate teams for guys and girls, and the only thing the pollicy is useful for is when the girls just want to play or hang out by themselves, like now.

Except there’s at least five or six dozen people here. There’s a steady influx of guys coming into the stadium, most of whom play Quidditch as well. (A few of the Slytherins and Gryffindors are actually down by the pitch bargaining with Kelley and some of the other girls-- probably trying to ask for some playing time.) And more people are showing up every minute. Including the Ravenclaws…

…and Christen.

“Go sit with her, you dumbass,” Lindsey mutters, shoving Tobin. Surprisingly, the latter actually obliges and shuffles towards the section of seats where the Ravenclaws are settling in. A certain dark-haired Seeker is talking animatedly to Becky, both of them laughing.

Tobin swallows nervously and reaches out to tap Christen on the shoulder. “Hey, Chris…?”

The Seeker turns around, and immediately, her smile dies on her lips. Christen blinks quickly and casts her gaze away, looking everywhere except at the girl in front of her.

“Um, hey,” she replies, quietly, and Tobin’s heartbeat pounds in her ears.

“I… was wondering if you wanted to sit with me? To watch? The scrimmage, I meant,” Tobin stammers out, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. “I mean, I-- I totally get it if you don’t wanna. After what happened earlier. Or, like, if you were gonna sit with your team-- which, actually, if you want to sit with them, you should just forget I ever asked--”

“Tobin,” Christen says, and there’s the hint of a smile on those pretty lips. “It’s alright. I’d love to.”

The Hufflepuff blushes; both of them miss the proud smirk on Becky’s face.

Christen stands. “We can sit over there if you’d like. Away from our houses.”

_(“Hey,” Becky protests, but she’s ignored as Tobin and Christen walk away.)_

The match has already started by the time they find a spot that’s a suitable distance away from any prying ears. Usually, Tobin would be immersed in the game, watching intently as Slytherin and Gryffindor fight it out on the pitch like they always do. But now, Tobin thinks, she can barely focus on _anything_ except for the girl next to her.

They sit in awkward silence for a few moments before Tobin blurts out, “I’m sorry. For, you know, what happened earlier.”

Christen is silent for what feels like the longest time in the world; Tobin doesn’t dare look at her.

“No,” Christen finally says, so quietly that it’s hard to hear her over the cheering and jeering of everyone else in the stadium. “No, Tobin. I’m sorry,” she repeats. And it’s a little louder this time, but it still has the same nervous edge, and Tobin doesn’t think she’s ever seen confident, self-assured Christen this flustered.

“I’m sorry for just taking off like that, because you didn’t do anything wrong--” at this, Tobin opens her mouth to protest, but Christen shakes her head and motions for the Hufflepuff to stop, “--no, Tobin, I swear, it wasn’t your fault. I freaked out over some simple little thing that you said, and I know it wasn’t even what you meant, and honestly--”

She trails off, green eyes darting anxiously, and suddenly, Tobin feels the urge to reach out and grab Christen’s hand. Before she can stop herself, she’s taking the Ravenclaw’s hand in her own, and the Seeker looks up with wide eyes.

“Keep going,” Tobin encourages gently, squeezing Christen’s hand softly. The shy, pretty smile that appears on the dark-haired girl’s face is enough to dispel any thoughts from Tobin’s already-racing mind-- in this moment, sitting outside in a cold stadium and holding the prettiest girl in the whole school’s hand, Tobin decides, she doesn’t care who sees her. She doesn’t care if Alex or Kelley or Pinoe or even Lindsey looks over and catches her being all soft. Hell, she doesn’t care if the Minister of Magic himself sees her right now.

“I freaked out, Tobin,” Christen continues, voice barely a whisper, “because I… I really do… like you. A lot. And I thought you knew, and you were teasing me or something, because how would _you_ ever like someone like, well, me?”

In the glow of the moon, Tobin catches a stray tear on Christen’s cheek, and immediately, she feels like the biggest asshole in the entire world for making this amazing, beautiful girl cry.

“Hey-- hey, Chris, look at me,” she urges gently, sliding a thumb up to wipe away the wetness, and Christen’s breath catches as Tobin’s hand cups her cheek.

“You said it wasn’t my fault, but it was, and I’m sorry, Chris. I never wanted it to seem like I was making fun of you. I said that because-- because, you know what?” Tobin swallows, willing her own nerves to back down, “Because, Christen Annemarie Press, I like you a lot, too. And I make stupid jokes when I’m nervous around pretty girls. Especially this one girl who’s the most talented and brilliant person I’ve ever met, and I keep spilling drinks on her and acting like a total asshole, but I like her _so_ much.”

Christen’s eyes are shining in the moonlight, another tear threatening to spill out. “You… you do?”

Tobin nods. “I do. All my friends tease me about it night and day, because I’m so obvious about it-- about how I blush every time you talk to me, and especially about that Quidditch match when I ran off the pitch because you took a nasty Bludger. And don’t ever, _ever_ talk about yourself like that, Christen, because if anything, I’m the one who doesn’t deserve someone as beautiful as you.”

“I could kiss you right now,” Christen whispers, and Tobin practically beams.

“All our friends are watching,” Tobin points out, and Christen sighs.

“Soon, then.”

“Soon,” Tobin agrees, and then grins. “I can’t believe we had this conversation on a Quidditch pitch with everyone around.”

“Oh, really? You’re not the one who ran out of the common room and then confessed her feelings in the span of a few hours.”

“Well, I did confess my feelings.”

“Only after I did!” Christen shoots back playfully, and Tobin smiles.

“You’re right. You’re always right, Chris.”

Christen blushes, then shivers as the cool night air hits her face. Without a moment of pause, Tobin shrugs off her robe and drapes it around the younger girl’s shoulders.

“No-- Tobin, it’s cold,” Christen protests.

“Which is why I’m warming you up.”

“But _you’ll_ be cold.”

“Heaths don’t get cold,” Tobin insists, just as another gust of cold air hits them, and she grimaces in her thin shirt and pants.

“Since you won’t let me give this back, guess we’ll just have to share, then,” Christen adds, shifting into Tobin’s side and wrapping the robe tightly around both of them. “Look. Perfect.”

Perfect indeed, Tobin thinks, as Christen leans onto her. Spending her night outside in a Quidditch stadium was _not_ part of her plans, especially not with Christen pressed against her, but she’s not complaining.

“Thanks for sitting with me,” Tobin mumbles, and she feels Christen smile into her shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Christen replies, quietly, and they settle in to watch the rest of the scrimmage together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what do we think?
> 
> i apologize if that feels too rushed or anything, i'm always open to suggestions. speaking of which, please lmk ALL your thoughts down there in the comments-- i love reading what you guys think !!
> 
> many new fics coming soon, and hopefully with less wait time in between chapters for this one. hmu @the23bestfriends if i'm being too slow or if you just wanna talk and i'll see y'all soon <3 !!


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